American Research Group, Inc.


 

September 23, 2024

Biden Job Approvals Unchanged

A total of 44% of Americans say they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president and 49% say they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. In August, 45% approved of the way Biden was handling his job as president and 49% disapproved.

When it comes to Biden's handling of the economy, 44% of Americans approve and 51% disapprove. In August, 43% approved of the way Biden was handling the economy and 51% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 45% approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president and 48% disapprove. On Biden's handling of the economy, 45% of registered voters approve and 50% disapprove.

Of the 44% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 57% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now. Of the 49% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 39% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now and 22% are undecided.

Of the 44% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 53% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now. Of the 49% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 39% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

In comparison to this point in Donald Trump's term in office (September 2020), 35% of Americans approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, 59% disapproved, and 6% were undecided. As for Trump's handling of the economy in August 2020, 39% approved, 56% disapproved, and 5% were undecided.

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults September 17 through 20, 2024. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 44% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, 49% disapprove, and 7% are undecided.

Biden job approval Approve Disapprove Undecided
Sep 2024 44% 49% 7%
Aug 2024 45% 49% 6%
Jul 2024 41% 53% 6%
Jun 2024 44% 51% 5%
May 2024 39% 56% 5%
Apr 2024 42% 53% 5%
Mar 2024 46% 50% 4%
Feb 2024 43% 51% 6%
Jan 2024 40% 54% 6%
Dec 2023 37% 57% 6%
Nov 2023 37% 57% 6%
Oct 2023 38% 56% 6%
Sep 2023 39% 56% 5%

Among Republicans (31% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 28% of all adults in the survey), 7% approve of the way Biden is handling his job and 85% disapprove. Among Democrats (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 88% approve and 6% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job. Among independents (37% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 34% of all adults in the survey), 40% approve and 53% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president.

Overall, 44% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy, 51% disapprove, and 5% are undecided. Among registered voters, 45% approve and 50% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

Biden handling the economy Approve Disapprove Undecided
Sep 2024 44% 51% 5%
Aug 2024 43% 51% 5%
Jul 2024 39% 55% 6%
Jun 2024 41% 54% 5%
May 2024 36% 59% 5%
Apr 2024 39% 56% 5%
Mar 2024 43% 52% 5%
Feb 2024 41% 53% 6%
Jan 2024 38% 57% 5%
Dec 2023 38% 56% 6%
Nov 2023 35% 60% 5%
Oct 2023 35% 59% 6%
Sep 2023 37% 59% 4%

Among Republicans, 6% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 88% disapprove. Among Democrats, 87% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 7% disapprove. Among independents, 40% approve and 55% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

A total of 35% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 17% say it is staying the same, and 44% say the national economy is getting worse.

National economy

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Sep 2024 35% 17% 44% 4%
Aug 2024 36% 17% 44% 3%
Jul 2024 32% 16% 48% 4%
Jun 2024 33% 18% 45% 4%
May 2024 29% 19% 48% 4%
Apr 2024 33% 20% 45% 2%
Mar 2024 34% 23% 40% 3%
Feb 2024 32% 20% 44% 4%
Jan 2024 29% 15% 52% 4%
Dec 2023 24% 16% 56% 4%
Nov 2023 22% 17% 55% 6%
Oct 2023 25% 14% 55% 6%
Sep 2023 27% 16% 53% 4%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 77% say getting better, 19% say staying the same, and 4% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 14% say staying the same, and 82% say getting worse.

A total of 39% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 23% say it will be the same, and 25% say it will be worse.

National economy a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than today

Undecided

Sep 2024 39% 23% 25% 13%
Aug 2024 39% 25% 24% 12%
Jul 2024 40% 24% 26% 10%
Jun 2024 41% 22% 28% 9%
May 2024 41% 18% 31% 10%
Apr 2024 43% 18% 28% 11%
Mar 2024 41% 24% 29% 6%
Feb 2024 37% 25% 31% 7%
Jan 2024 35% 26% 38% 1%
Dec 2023 30% 29% 40% 1%
Nov 2023 29% 28% 42% 1%
Oct 2023 32% 23% 44% 1%
Sep 2023 33% 25% 41% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 57% say better, 28% say the same as today, 9% say worse than today, and 6% are undecided. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 21% say better, 18% say the same, 39% say worse, and 22% are undecided.

Overall, 37% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 53% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 10% are undecided.

National economy in a recession Yes No Undecided
Sep 2024 37% 53% 10%
Aug 2024 37% 54% 9%
Jul 2024 42% 47% 11%
Jun 2024 39% 48% 13%
May 2024 45% 45% 10%
Apr 2024 41% 50% 9%
Mar 2024 40% 50% 10%
Feb 2024 42% 47% 11%
Jan 2024 46% 41% 13%
Dec 2023 47% 39% 14%
Nov 2023 47% 38% 15%
Oct 2023 46% 41% 13%
Sep 2023 47% 39% 14%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 4% say the national economy is in a recession, 94% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 2% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 68% say the national economy is in a recession, 21% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 11% are undecided.

A total of 53% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 46% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

National economy

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Sep 2024 15% 17% 21% 11% 11% 24% 1%
Aug 2024 16% 17% 21% 10% 9% 26% 1%
Jul 2024 14% 13% 21% 13% 10% 28% 1%
Jun 2024 14% 12% 23% 17% 11% 22% 1%
May 2024 12% 10% 21% 19% 11% 26% 1%
Apr 2024 13% 13% 21% 20% 8% 23% 2%
Mar 2024 13% 13% 27% 22% 9% 15% 1%
Feb 2024 13% 11% 25% 25% 9% 16% 1%
Jan 2024 10% 10% 26% 35% 8% 10% 1%
Dec 2023 8% 12% 27% 36% 6% 10% 1%
Nov 2023 9% 11% 28% 37% 6% 8% 1%
Oct 2023 10% 13% 24% 33% 8% 11% 1%
Sep 2023 9% 16% 24% 28% 7% 15% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 98% say very good, or good and 1% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 11% say very good, or good and 88% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 69% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 25% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Household financial situation

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Sep 2024 20% 20% 29% 14% 4% 7% 6%
Aug 2024 19% 20% 30% 19% 1% 7% 4%
Jul 2024 17% 19% 31% 19% 1% 9% 4%
Jun 2024 18% 18% 33% 20% 1% 9% 1%
May 2024 16% 19% 33% 21% 1% 8% 2%
Apr 2024 18% 22% 32% 17% 1% 8% 2%
Mar 2024 19% 25% 33% 18% 2% 2% 1%
Feb 2024 18% 22% 34% 20% 2% 3% 1%
Jan 2024 18% 20% 32% 23% 5% 1% 1%
Dec 2023 15% 21% 34% 22% 6% 1% 1%
Nov 2023 15% 21% 36% 19% 7% 1% 1%
Oct 2023 15% 21% 32% 21% 9% 1% 1%
Sep 2023 15% 21% 33% 20% 9% 1% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 98% say excellent, very good, or good and 2% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 40% say very good, or good and 49% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 18% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 45% say staying the same, and 35% say getting worse.

Household financial situation

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Sep 2024 18% 45% 35% 2%
Aug 2024 19% 44% 35% 2%
Jul 2024 15% 44% 39% 2%
Jun 2024 16% 40% 41% 3%
May 2024 14% 40% 44% 2%
Apr 2024 16% 43% 39% 2%
Mar 2024 16% 50% 33% 1%
Feb 2024 15% 48% 36% 1%
Jan 2024 15% 43% 41% 1%
Dec 2023 12% 43% 44% 1%
Nov 2023 11% 46% 42% 1%
Oct 2023 14% 39% 46% 1%
Sep 2023 14% 39% 46% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 40% say getting better, 55% say staying the same, and 4% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 32% say staying the same, and 64% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 32% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 39% say the same as today, and 26% say worse than today.

Household financial situation a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than
today

Undecided

Sep 2024 32% 39% 26% 3%
Aug 2024 33% 38% 26% 3%
Jul 2024 33% 38% 26% 3%
Jun 2024 36% 37% 26% 1%
May 2024 35% 34% 29% 2%
Apr 2024 36% 38% 25% 1%
Mar 2024 34% 41% 24% 1%
Feb 2024 33% 40% 26% 1%
Jan 2024 28% 41% 30% 1%
Dec 2023 25% 38% 36% 1%
Nov 2023 25% 40% 34% 1%
Oct 2023 27% 34% 38% 1%
Sep 2023 28% 33% 38% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 53% say better than today, 36% say the same as today, and 6% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 18% say better than today, 39% say the same as today, and 31% say worse than today.


About this Survey -

Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 310 Republicans, 317 Democrats, 373 independents, and 100 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: September 17-20, 2024

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Question Wording and Order:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy?

How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

 

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